Ilia Malinin cruises to 2nd straight title to cap an American gold rush at figure skating worlds

By Canadian Press on March 29, 2025.

BOSTON (AP) — Ilia Malinin defended his world title with a free skate that earned a standing ovation inside TD Garden on Saturday night, capping a memorable home championships for the Americans, who won three gold medals in the four figure skating events to give them a wave of momentum heading into an Olympic year.

The 20-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, came up short in his try at a record seven quads — Malinin had to settle for a mere six after he popped a planned quad lutz. But it hardly mattered. He finished with a season-best 318.56 points after his free skate, set to “I’m Not a Vampire” by Falling In Reverse, to win his second gold medal by more than 31 points.

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan jumped over Yuma Kagiyama and into second place with a sublime free skate, finishing with 287.47, while the reigning Olympic silver medalist from Japan wound up third with 278.19 points.

Earlier in the night, Madison Chock and Evan Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades when their jazzy free skate held off longtime Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

They set the stage for Malinin to join the American gold rush, one night after Alysa Liu’s triumph in the women’s event.

Malinin, who had about a three-point cushion on Kagiyama after his short program, oozed confidence as he swaggered toward the ice for his warm-up. And when former Olympic ice dancer Ben Agosto announced his name, and a second straight sellout in TD Garden roared, the self-styled “Quad God” suddenly appeared to be downright stoic preparing for his program.

The program itself? The kind of high-flying stuff nobody else can do these days.

Malinin hit his first four quads, including the axel that only he has ever landed in competition, before the only real misstep, when he doubled up the lutz. But he stayed in the moment, finishing the program to a roar of approval from the home fans.

He was already the favorite to win gold at the Milano-Cortina Olympics next year.

Now, the question is whether anybody else can even compete with him?

Chock and Bates finished with 222.06 points in the ice dance competition, while Gilles and Poirier took silver for the second straight year with 216.54. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson landed on the podium in third, earning Britain’s first world medal of any color since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean finished their run of four straight ice dance titles in 1984.

Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov were the last to win three in a row, triumphing four straight times for Russia from 1994-97.

“Coming in here, we weren’t thinking about a three-peat or any type of title defense. It was a standalone event,” Bates said. “We were prepared as we could possibly be and we skated as well as we could have.”

Now, Chock and Bates are ready to turn their attention to their biggest goal: the Winter Olympics in February.

The longtime partners have been on the stage before, and were part of the U.S. squad that won team gold at the 2022 Games in Beijing — following a protracted investigation into Russian doping. But for all their success, Chock and Bates have never stood on an Olympic podium in ice dance itself, finishing just off it in fourth place three years ago.

“I think the Olympic season certainly carries a different weight than the other three years,” Chock said. “You have this incredible opportunity to reach the entire world, and it makes it really special, because it amplifies our voices on and off the ice.”

The trip to Milan, Italy, is Malinin’s primary focus, too. He was left off the team in Beijing despite finishing second at nationals that year, when U.S. Figure Skating opted for a more experienced lineup at the Winter Games.

“My focus on the Olympics will start at the beginning of next season, when the competitions start rolling around,” he said. “That is when I will have to start on strategy, making sure I like how the programs are, and how the jumps are going, and making sure that everything is comfortable before the Olympics.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press